From Xming on Windows XP to WSLg: 18 years of Linux GUI apps on Windows (2026)
Years ago I recorded Xming — an X11 server for Windows — displaying a remote Linux gedit window on a Windows XP desktop over SSH. That trick (install an X server, forward X11 over SSH) was how you ran Linux GUI apps on Windows for two decades. In 2026 you barely do it anymore: WSLg ships a Wayland/X server inside Windows, so `apt install` a Linux app and it just opens. Here's the arc from then to now, and what to actually use today.